photonics

Superconducting nanowire single photon detectors (SNSPDs) have the potential to function as highly accurate particle detectors, according to a study conducted at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory. The findings could open new opportunities for the use of SNSPDs in the fields of nuclear and particle physics.

SNSPDs are optical and IR photon sensors with precise spatial and timing resolutions. They are used to detect individual photons in quantum cryptography, optical sensing, and quantum computing applications.

When SNSPDs absorb individual photons, small electrical changes in the nanowires are generated at very low temperatures, allowing the detection and measurement of single photons. The...

Leica Microsystems has acquired ATTO-TEC GmbH, a specialty supplier of fluorescent dyes and reagents. The addition of dyes and reagents for sample preparation complements the Leica portfolio of microscopy imaging platforms and advanced AI-based analysis software.
Superresolution image of intracellular structures using a STELLARIS stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscope and TauSTED Xtend. The magenta color shows actin filaments stained with ATOO 647N. Courtesy of Ludwig-Maximilians University Biomedical Centre/Mariano Gonzales Pisfil and Steffen Dietzel. ATTO-TEC’s dyes, antibody labeling kits, labeled phospholipids, and other reagents are used in fluorescence microscopy imaging and can be a key advantage for reliable...

UbiQD, a developer and manufacturer of quantum dot technology, has acquired BlueDot Photonics. The deal includes perovskite-based quantum cutting technology and exclusive rights to BlueDot’s associated intellectual property, initially developed (and licensed from) the University of Washington.
Seattle-based BlueDot Photonics develops solutions to improve solar panel performance. Courtesy of U.S. Chamber of Commerce/Ian Wagreich. BlueDot's doped perovskite materials convert high-energy photons into nearly twice as many lower-energy photons, according to the company, and the technology could increase silicon solar panel efficiency by up to 16%. The technology has the potential to reduce the cost of solar energy generation and push...

Semiconductor metrology company Wooptix has raised more than €10 million ($10.4 million) in a Series C funding round led by Samsung Venture Investment Corporation and Spanish Society for Technological Transformation (SETT). The company plans to use the funding to accelerate product development, expand international reach, and scale their team to meet growing industry demand.

Wooptix, based in Spain and San Francisco, is focused on commercializing semiconductor metrology equipment incorporating wavefront phase imaging with its Phemet system. The Phemet system measures silicon wafer warpage and enables blank and patterned wafer-shape measurement in less time and with higher resolution than current systems used in the industry,...

Sivers Semiconductors AB, a photonics and wireless technologies company, has appointed Alexander McCann as a strategic senior advisor to the board and the CEO, with a primary focus on strengthening and scaling the company's photonics operations. McCann joins Sivers Semiconductors with more than 25 years of executive leadership experience in the semiconductor industry, having previously served as vice president of global operations at Dialog Semiconductor and as COO at Linear Technology Corp.

BIRMINGHAM, England — Developer of resist materials for extreme ultraviolet lithography Irresistible Materials, Ltd. has added Dinesh R. Bettadapur as CEO and board director. Bettadapur previously held leadership roles at ASML, Intel, and...

Photonics industry expert Jay Kumler, who served as president of JENOPTIK North America, Inc. as well as JENOPTIK Optical Systems, LLC, has died. Kumler was additionally part of the Jenoptik Executive Management Committee, and consulted on and actively shaped the development of Jenoptik’s photonics-based business in the U.S., the company said.

Jenoptik shared the news on Feb. 17. Kumler was 61.

“We extend our sincere condolences to Jay’s family, friends, and to everyone Jay has touched through his work which has left a lasting impression on so many. He will greatly be missed,” said Stefan Traeger, president & CEO of JENOPTIK AG.

“Not only did Jay have a huge impact on our company, but he...

Scientists have developed a groundbreaking method for generating fast, bright proton beams using a high-repetition-rate laser-plasma accelerator. This work resolves several long-standing challenges and ushers this technology to the threshold of real-world applications — all thanks to a stream of water.

“These exciting results pave the way for new applications of relativistic high-power lasers for applications in medicine, accelerator research, and inertial fusion,” said Siegfried Glenzer, professor of photon science and director of the High Energy Density Science division at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.

Proton beams are high-speed streams of charged particles known for their...

While traditional 3D printers work by depositing layers of material, tomographic volumetric additive manufacturing (TVAM) involves shining laser light at a rotating vial of resin until it hardens where accumulated energy exceeds a certain threshold. An advantage of TVAM is that it can produce objects in a matter of seconds, compared to approximately 10 minutes for layer-based 3D printing. But a disadvantage is that it is very inefficient, because only around 1% of the encoded light reaches the resin to produce the desired shape.

Researchers from EPFL’s Laboratory of Applied Photonic Devices, led by professor Christophe Moser, and from the University of Southern Denmark’s Centre for Photonics Engineering, led by professor...

Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft has named Constantin Haefner as executive vice president of Research and Transfer. Elected in June of last year, Haefner has officially assumed the position as of today, having previously served as the executive director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology since 2019.
Constantin Haefner. Courtesy of Markus Jürgens/Fraunhofer.
The Research and Transfer executive unit at the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is responsible for the organization’s strategic alignment. Its main objective is to promote the commercialization of research results and the collaboration between research and industry. The unit manages Fraunhofer’s research resources, supports the institutes in translating research...

Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales and Leonardo, has signed a contract with the European Space Agency (ESA) for Element #2 of the HydRON (High-Throughput Optical Space Network) Demonstration System for the design, development, deployment, and in-orbit demonstration of a full end-to-end optical system to verify and validate an all-optical, multi-orbit, high data rate transport network in space.

HydRON will use laser technology to allow data-collecting satellites to connect with other satellites and ground networks much faster, significantly enhancing the ability to collect and utilize data from space.
Concept image of the HydRON optical communication network being developed as part of the ESA’s Optical and...

Seagate Technology Holdings plc, a mass-capacity data storage company, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Intevac, a supplier of thin-film processing systems. The all-cash transaction carries a value of $4 per share. The deal is expected to close this spring. Intevac sold its photonics business unit in Jan. 2022 to EOTECH LLC for $100 million.

TUCSON, Ariz. — Optical and ultrashort pulse laser technologies developer Applied Energetics has opened a new Battle Lab facility designed to test, demonstrate, and advance emerging laser technologies in dynamic environments. Located in the University of Arizona Tech Park and adjacent to the company's headquarters, the Battle Lab is also expected to provide the capacity to...

Cailabs has entered into a partnership with satellite communications (SATCOM) solutions and services provider DataPath Inc. to deploy a new class of transportable optical SATCOM terminals. The collaboration combines Cailabs’ advanced optical reassembling technology and optical ground stations with DataPath’s experience in deploying ruggedized, tactical SATCOM systems for U.S. and allied militaries.
The transportable optical SATCOM terminals will be integrated with Cailabs’ optical beam-shaping technology. Courtesy of Cailabs. Cailabs’ optical beam-shaping technology, which enables high-speed space-to-ground optical communications by compensating for atmospheric turbulence, will be integrated by DataPath into the...

Increasing demand for high-performance AI has engendered interest in using photonic processing instead of conventional electronic processing for AI computations. Optical computing has the potential to boost AI’s computational throughput, processing speed, and energy efficiency by orders of magnitude.

But first, optical neural networks must achieve recognition accuracy that is on par with electronic neural networks. A nanophotonic neural network, developed by researchers at the University of Washington and Princeton University, aims to overcome this limitation.

The researchers embedded parallelized optical computation into flat camera optics 4 mm in length. The camera performs neural network computations during image...

LightPath Technologies has acquired G5 Infrared, LLC, a high-end infrared camera systems manufacturer. LightPath will pay $27 million in cash and stock to make the purchase. The deal carries the potential for additional performance-based consideration, LightPath said.

The deal is expected to close later this month, expanding LightPath’s portfolio to include cooled infrared cameras and creating a more robust, vertically integrated solutions provider. LightPath expects the combined company to achieve at least $55 million in revenue in the 12 months following the acquisition.

Founded in 2011, G5 specializes in long-range mission-critical detection solutions, focusing on defense, border security, and counter unmanned aerial...

Neutral-atom quantum computing company QuEra Computing has completed a financing round of more than $230 million. The company plans to use the funds to accelerate technological development and rapidly expand its team of scientists and engineers, with a focus on technical and scientific talent, and to strengthen build and test capacity to scale up and meet growing demand for high-performance neutral atom quantum computers.

The financing validates technical advancements achieved in collaboration with Mikhail Lukin, Markus Greiner, and their teams at Harvard as well as Vladan Vuletic and his team at MIT, the company said. The financing additionally follows commercial progress with major customers, such as the Advanced Industrial Science...

It was surprising how far-removed Washington and political discussions appeared to be from this meeting of photonics experts from all around the world. Indeed, those who lost their travel grants on very short notice were missed (and colleagues who made it to San Francisco were alarmed). But even with the intense discussions on social media, politics ultimately became a secondary topic at Photonics West.

Of course, there were great scientific presentations and lots (nearly 1400) company booths. But the most important thing was socializing. Catching up with old friends and making new ones was and still is the reason people invest considerable resources in travel and, for many companies, exhibitor booths. If there is one lesson that we...

GlobalFoundries’ board of directors has appointed Thomas Caulfield as executive chairman, Tim Breen as CEO, and Niels Anderskouv as COO. The appointments were made after GlobalFoundries board member Ahmed Yahia decided to step down from his position. Caulfield has served as president and CEO of GlobalFoundries since 2018. Breen has held the position of COO at the company since 2023 with previous experience as a senior member of the executive team at Mubadala Investment Company. Anderskouv brings 25 years’ experience to his new role and currently serves as chief business officer of GlobalFoundries.

MARLBOROGH, Mass. — IPG Photonics has promoted Mary E. Buttarazzi to the positions of vice president, corporate...

Laparoscopic surgery, a minimally invasive surgical technique for the chest and abdomen, significantly reduces post-procedure morbidity compared to open surgery. Despite its advantages, laparoscopic surgery remains largely inaccessible in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) due to the high cost of the equipment and other logistical challenges.

To address this disparity, researchers at the University of Maryland, Makerere University, and Duke University developed a low-cost, durable, reusable, single-unit laparoscopic system, called KeyScope, using miniaturized CMOS and LEDs.

Standard-of-care (SOC) laparoscopes typically include a laparoscopic camera unit that contains a microelectronic video camera with a high-resolution...

Relativity Networks, a provider of next-generation fiber optic technology, has raised $4.6 million in pre-seed funding to address the growing demand for data centers and their power requirements. The company’s technology aims to help the data industry meet energy challenges by expanding development beyond urban cores and into locations with more than abundant power, Relativity Networks said.

The company’s hollow-core fiber (HCF) technology allows data to move faster with lower latency than conventional fiber, thereby enabling data to travel 1.5x farther without influencing latency that throw multi-location data operations and applications out of sync. While traditional fiber optic cables typically limit data centers to...

Industrial blue laser company NUBURU said late last week that it is working to execute its transformation plan as the company makes extensive changes to its board of directors. Over the past year, the company has been in and out of compliance with the New York Stock Exchange. NUBURU regained compliance last month, following a pair of agreements with S.F.E. Equity Investments SARL and Liqueous LP.

The first agreement, with S.F.E., will fund the company’s operations for 12 months in exchange for certain governance changes. These changes included the resignation of Ron Nicol, the appointment of Alessandro Zamboni as chairman, and the reinstatement of Matteo Ricchebuono as a director.

The second agreement, with Liqueous LP,...